It was with the help of Kevin Prince-Boateng that AC Milan breezed past PSV Eindhoven and into the Champions League group stages on Wednesday night, easing the growing pressure on Massimiliano Allegri in the process. Having lost the Serie A season opener to newly-promoted Hellas Verona, under-21 coach Devis Mangia was primed to succeed Allegri
Vlad Chiriches, aka “Vlad the Impaler”, is a 23-year old Romanian defender. He is a versatile player; while his main position is centre-back, he can be used on either side of the pitch, and can also be utilised as a DM. His style of play has been likened to that of both David Luiz and
Sometimes I wonder who writes these scripts. You know, Josep ‘Pep’ Guardiola returns from his sabbatical and Mourinho is back at his ‘beloved’ Chelsea. What happens next? They face-off in Europe for a very important ‘winner takes-all’ game. Whoever is victorious will not only smile home with the trophy, but also the upper hand in
It was with deep regret that Erik Lamela finally competed his long-awaited move from Roma to Tottenham Hotspur, the Argentine winger making way as the Italian club needed to cash in on the £25 million deal to balance the books. The move has been met by widespread disappointment around the capital as Roma have lost
When a youthful Aston Villa narrowly survived relegation last season, the majority of fans and pundits claimed they’d be better off this campaign as a result of their experience battling for survival. Just three games into the new season and it appears that reasoning is correct after Villa did more than just compete with three
Just after the hour mark of Real Madrid’s narrow 0-1 victory in Grenada on Monday night, Carlo Ancelotti substituted Mesut Ozil for Casimero, a decision that the German showed his clear objection to by angrily storming off down the tunnel. Ancelotti has begun his reign with 2 wins out of 2 but the sluggish, fragmented
As Chelsea prepare to take on Manchester United tonight in a mouthwatering early season clash in the English Premier League, confusion surrounds the future of their Spanish playmaker Juan Mata. Returning Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho insists Mata is not for sale, despite continued speculation that he could be involved in a swap deal with Wayne
This game couldn’t have come at a worse time for the hosts. Europa League winners, Chelsea have a date with Bayern Munich on Friday with the UEFA Super Cup up for grabs. But it is their courting of Wayne Rooney that is the main concern for the red army. The English international wants out. However,
It takes a lot to be a successful coach. To win professional games consistently you need to be an exceptional motivator, a near-genius tactician, and by far the hardest working person at the club. There are some coaches that have stood head and shoulders above the rest, leading their teams to success upon success. Here
As Real Madrid have been active in this summer’s transfer window in preparation to wrestle the La Liga title back from Barcelona, their Catalan rivals have been quiet, preferring instead to allow new manager Tito Martino inherent a settled squad rather than risk destabilising a winning formula. The high-profile €57 million capture of Neymar has
With Brendan Rodgers beginning his second term as Liverpool boss, the expectations going to be a lot higher this time around. In his first season, Liverpool fans accepted that Rodgers had to go through a learning period. That, coupled with having to move out some of Kenny Dalglish’s poor signings, meant that Rodgers was allowed
There will surely be more pressing matters for Real Madrid, as they open up their first season under Carlo Ancelotti, than a friendly with Al Sadd. A late Isco goal and a large slice of fortune was needed to overcome Real Betis on Sunday evening as Ancelotti, just, managed to get his reign off to
Football has been played, in one form or another, since at least the 3rd Century BC. It has evolved over the centuries – with many and frequent modifications to style, rules and regulations – to become the game we know today. You may know it as soccer, depending on where you’re from, but no matter
As we all know, Arsenal have been inactive thus far in the transfer market. Only young striker Yaya Sanogo has been signed up. After Ivan Gazidis confirming they have money to spend, no big names have yet to arrive. The likes of Gonzalo Higuain, Luis Suarez, Luiz Gustavo, Bernard and many other big names have
It has taken almost 6 years, but finally, I can say that I’ve been to a Zenit Saint Petersburg match. Yes at Zenit’s youth teams match, but a Zenit game nevertheless. And it wasn’t just a first in the sense of seeing my club play, almost incredibly it was the first time that I had
After managing to scrape 4th last season, hopes were once again elevated at the Emirates ahead of the new season, well, after Chief Executive Ivan Gazidis during a Q and A session with the fans gloated about the club’s financial position to sign big players to challenge for titles ahead of the new season. In
So, it’s finally over then. European media have broken out in consensus that Tottenham and Real Madrid have agreed a deal to take Gareth Bale to the Spanish capital, ending one of the summer’s longest-running transfer sagas. With various figures between £80 million and £115 million mooted over the course of the past two months
Okay, I’m going to stick my neck firmly on the chopping block here and state that Bolton is a good value bet to take the Championship title. If you have a look at all the different odds available with the various bookies, they are a best-priced 12/1 with some of them at the time of
Another dismal start to the season with defeat to Aston Villa at home which many pundits regarded as a shock defeat. It was coming, given the negativity that the Arsenal hierarchy have succeeded in creating by their elaborate con to spend in the transfer window. In the past, I have supported the clubs strategy to
Real Madrid and Barcelona sit either side of Manchester United as first and third on the most recent Forbes list of richest clubs. The rest of Spain meanwhile is burdened by a collective debt of £3.523 million, making La Liga an attractive place for Premier League clubs to shop. Swansea brought in £2.5 million Jordi